Kennedy Center Presents ON THE FRINGE: EYE ON EDINBURGH, 10/28-11/13

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in association with the British Council presents ON THE FRINGE: Eye on Edinburgh in various locations throughout the Kennedy Center from October 28 to November 13, 2010. Containing many free and low-cost performances, the three-week event features seven works from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe - which has been a crucible for the creation of innovative and experimental work.

"Art and culture evolve over time, and it is new work that pushes culture into the new era," states Alicia Adams, Vice President of International Programming and Dance at the Kennedy Center, "We hope this series will help broaden the Center's profile of cutting edge and contemporary theater while bringing innovative artists of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to a national American stage."

The 2009 Edinburgh Fringe First Award winner and Herald Archangel Award winner, A Life in Three Acts is directed by Mark Ravenhill and written by Bette Bourne and Mark Ravenhill. The production tells the story of celebrated performer and key figure in Britain's largely unreported post-war gay liberation struggle, Bette Bourne. A living, breathing history, the work is adapted from private conversations between Bourne and the playwright Mark Ravenhill. Now presented as a solo

performance from Bourne, it follows his post-war childhood, to life in a Notting Hill drag commune of the 1970s, to his seminal role in the formation of the Gay Liberation Front in Britain and his world-famous BLOOLIPS gay theater troupe and beyond. Tickets are $25.

Susurrus, October 28 - November 7, 2010, 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Various

Susurrus (pronounced sus-yoo-rus) is an audio play whose title refers to the rustling sound of wind in trees. Without actors and without a stage, audiences experience playwright David Leddy's narrative by listening to it on headphones while following a mapped route covering the grounds of the Kennedy Center. Susurrus is loosely based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and draws on live art and adds layers of theatricality by locking individual members of the audience into a private play, hearing anonymous speakers tell stories of opera, botany, and relationships, all linked to the pathways around them. Times vary, with groups of up to four admitted every 15 minutes. Recommended for mature audiences. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the in person at the box office or by calling (202) 467-4600. Patrons will be walking 60-90 minutes throughout the Center. The play's route is wheelchair accessible. Ticketed audience members will begin route by picking up their headphones at the Hall of States ALD Desk located next to the upper level Gift Shop.

Hard Hearted Hannah and Other Stories, October 30, 2010 at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., Millennium Stage

In Hard Hearted Hannah and Other Stories, the three members of Cartoon de Salvo take a title chosen by a random audience suggestion and a few popular songs picked from a playlist to create a new and unique story from scratch every night. FREE. No tickets required.

Of All The People In All The World, November 1 - 7, 2010, Hall of States/Nations

Stan's Cafe presents the performance installation, Of All The People In All The World, which brings five tons of rice to the Center, representing one grain for every person in the U.S. Over the course of one week, a team of performers will weigh this rice out into any array of human statistics. When brought together to create a shifting sculptural landscape, these hills and mountains start to tell powerful stories of the world, its struggles, challenges, and triumphs. FREE. No tickets required.

Nine Years, November 4 - 5, 2010, at 8:30 p.m. Terrace Gallery

The Lone Twin presents the D.C. premiere of Nine Years, which tells the story of two friends, Gregg Whelan and Gary Winters, who offered theatrical presentations as a gift to the people they have met on their nine year journey across the world. Nine years and 700 performances later, they have returned home and the journey is complete. The internationally acclaimed duo brings together the entire body of work in one 90-minute show for the first time. Tickets are $25.

One Small Step, November 6 at 5 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. and November 7 at 1:30 p.m. & 4:00 p.m., 2010, Family Theater

For both young and adult audiences, Oxford Playhouse's One Small Step features two actors taking an action-packed trip to the moon bringing dozens of characters to life in an inventive exploration of the space race, from Sputnik in 1957 to Apollo 11 in 1969. Tickets are $18.

Midsummer [a play with songs], November 11 - 13, 2010, Terrace Theater

Traverse Theatre Company's Midsummer [a play with songs], written and directed by David Grieg, tells the story of two strangers whose one-night stand turns into a long weekend of bridge burning, car chases, midnight meetings, and hung-over, self-loathing misery. Tickets are $25.

Ticket prices vary and are available for purchase at the Kennedy Center box office or by calling Instant Charge at (202) 467-4600. Patrons living outside the Washington metropolitan area may dial toll-free at (800) 444-1324 or visit our website at kennedy-center.org.

ON THE FRINGE: Eye on Edinburgh is presented in association with the British Council.

International Programming at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.

For more information, please visit the Kennedy Center website at www.kennedy-center.org.

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